As many as 2.24 million such crimes were reported over the past decade.

Crimes against women have more than doubled over the past ten years, according to latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau.

As many as 2.24 million crimes against women were reported over the past decade: 26 crimes against women are reported every hour, or one complaint every two minutes, reveals an IndiaSpend analysis based on the last decade’s data.

The semantic meaning of “crime against women” is direct or indirect physical or mental cruelty to women. Crimes directed specifically against women and in which only women are victims are characterised as “crimes against women”.

Cruelty by husbands and relatives under section 498‐A of Indian Penal Code is the major crime committed against women across the country, with 909,713 cases reported over the last 10 years, or 10 every hour.

Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (470,556), earlier classified as molestation under section 354 of IPC, is the second-most-reported crime against women over the last decade.

Kidnapping and abduction of women (315,074) is the third-most-reported crime followed by rape (243,051), insult to modesty of women (104,151) and dowry death (80,833).

More than 66,000 cases have been reported under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961, over the last decade.

Ten cases of cruelty by husband and relatives are reported every hour across the country followed by cases of assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (5), kidnapping & abduction (3) and rape (3).

NCRB added three more heads under which cases of crime against women have been reported in 2014.

These include attempt to commit rape (4,234), abetment of suicide of women (3,734) under section 306 IPC and protection of women from domestic violence (426).

As many as 66% of women reported experiencing sexual harassment between two and five times during the past year, a 2010 study in New Delhi had found.

Andra Pradesh leads in crimes against women

Andhra Pradesh has reported the most crimes against women (263,839) over the past 10 years.

The state ranks first in crimes reported for insult to modesty of women (35,733), second in cruelty by husband and relatives (117,458), assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (51,376) and fourth among dowry-related deaths (5,364).

These five states account for almost half of all the crimes committed against women across the country over the last decade.

Kidnapping of women up three times

Kidnapping and abduction of women is up 264% (a more than three-fold increase) over the past ten years, from 15,750 cases in 2005 to 57,311 cases in 2014. Uttar Pradesh is the worst-affected state, with 58,953 cases reported.

Police investigations have found that in places like Delhi, Agra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, denotified tribes (also known as criminal tribes), such as Bedia, Nat, Kanjar and Banjara, are involved in kidnapping minor girls, according to a report by the United Nations.

These tribes raise kidnapped girls as their own daughters, and then send them to Mumbai and Middle East to work in dance bars, brothels and escort services.

Madhya Pradesh (34,143) reported the highest number of rape cases in the last decade followed by West Bengal (19,993), Uttar Pradesh (19,894), Maharashtra (19,177) and Rajasthan (18,654).

Madhya Pradesh (70,020) also reported the most cases of assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty.

Around 35% of women globally have experienced either physical or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence, according to a 2013 global review by UN Women.

Some national violence studies show that up to 70% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime from an intimate partner, the UN report said.

This article was originally published on IndiaSpend.com, a data-driven and public-interest journalism non-profit.

The right machine can save water, power consumption, time, energy and your clothes from damage.

In 2010, Han Rosling, a Swedish statistician, convinced a room full of people that the washing machine was the greatest invention of the industrial revolution. In the TED talk delivered by him, he illuminates how the washing machine freed women from doing hours of labour intensive laundry, giving them the time to read books and eventually join the labour force. Rosling’s argument rings true even today as it is difficult to deny the significance of the washing machine in our everyday lives.

For many households, buying a washing machine is a sizable investment. Oddly, buyers underestimate the importance of the decision-making process while buying one and don’t research the purchase as much as they would for a television or refrigerator. Most buyers limit their buying criteria to type, size and price of the washing machine.

Visible technological advancements can be seen all around us, making it fair to expect a lot more from household appliances, especially washing machines. Here are a few features to expect and look out for before investing in a washing machine:

Cover your basics

Do you wash your towels every day? How frequently do you do your laundry? Are you okay with a bit of manual intervention during the wash cycle? These questions will help filter the basic type of washing machine you need. The semi-automatics require manual intervention to move clothes from the washing tub to the drying tub and are priced lower than a fully-automatic. A fully-automatic comes in two types: front load and top load. Front loading machines use less water by rotating the inner drum and using gravity to move the clothes through water.

Simple steps to get the best from your washing machineSimple steps to get the best from your washing machineSimple steps to get the best from your washing machine

Size matters

The size or the capacity of the machine is directly proportional to the consumption of electricity. The right machine capacity depends on the daily requirement of the household. For instance, for couples or individuals, a 6kg capacity would be adequate whereas a family of four might need an 8 kg or bigger capacity for their laundry needs. This is an important factor to consider since the wrong decision can consume an unnecessary amount of electricity.

Machine intelligence that helps save time

In situations when time works against you and your laundry, features of a well-designed washing machine can come to rescue. There are programmes for urgent laundry needs that provide clean laundry in a super quick 15 to 30 minutes’ cycle; a time delay feature that can assist you to start the laundry at a desired time etc. Many of these features dispel the notion that longer wash cycles mean cleaner clothes. In fact, some washing machines come with pre-activated wash cycles that offer shortest wash cycles across all programmes without compromising on cleanliness.

The green quotient

Despite the conveniences washing machines offer, many of them also consume a substantial amount of electricity and water. By paying close attention to performance features, it’s possible to find washing machines that use less water and energy. For example, there are machines which can adjust the levels of water used based on the size of the load. The reduced water usage, in turn, helps reduce the usage of electricity. Further, machines that promise a silent, no-vibration wash don’t just reduce noise – they are also more efficient as they are designed to work with less friction, thus reducing the energy consumed.

Customisable washing modes

Crushed dresses, out-of-shape shirts and shrunken sweaters are stuff of laundry nightmares. Most of us would rather take out the time to hand wash our expensive items of clothing rather than trusting the washing machine. To get the dirt out of clothes, washing machines use speed to first agitate the clothes and spin the water out of them, a process that takes a toll on the fabric. Fortunately, advanced machines come equipped with washing modes that control speed and water temperature depending on the fabric. While jeans and towels can endure a high-speed tumble and spin action, delicate fabrics like silk need a gentler wash at low speeds. Some machines also have a monsoon mode. This is an India specific mode that gives clothes a hot rinse and spin to reduce drying time during monsoons. A super clean mode will use hot water to clean the clothes deeply.

Washing machines have come a long way, from a wooden drum powered by motor to high-tech machines that come equipped with automatic washing modes. Bosch washing machines include all the above-mentioned features and provide damage free laundry in an energy efficient way. With 32 different washing modes, Bosch washing machines can create custom wash cycles for different types of laundry, be it lightly soiled linens, or stained woollens. The ActiveWater feature in Bosch washing machines senses the laundry load and optimises the usage of water and electricity. Its EcoSilentDrive motor draws energy from a permanent magnet, thereby saving energy and giving a silent wash. The fear of expensive clothes being wringed to shapelessness in a washing machine is a common one. The video below explains how Bosch’s unique VarioDrumTM technology achieves damage free laundry.